Livestock vs. Game Cameras

I've got two game cameras I'd like to put out this weekend. What has been your experience using them in areas where livestock (cows/goats) can get to them? I already know I'm going to get plenty of pics, but am I going to find a lot of teeth marks when I go back in a couple of weeks? Should I go ahead and get boxes for them now?

The cows that hang out by my feeder love to eat the straps that secure the game camera. They also seem to like to lick my camera for some reason.

^^^ The lease I hunt has cows, and I always have my cameras inside the feed pen and when strapped to the outside fence I will sometimes get them moved and bumped out of position by the cows, I assume licking them or rubbing on them (I can sometimes catch some whiskers or a face which gives the cow away). I have since moved my cameras inside the feed pen on a game camera stand and I don't have any worries about the cows moving anything. Havent had to worry about deer either, they seem to be curious about the cams and I get plenty of "selfies" but none have licked or bumped the cameras out of position as of yet.

If you can, I would invest in game cam stands rather than boxes if you are putting them near a feed pen. If you are putting them on a tree or something, try to get them up higher than eye level of a cow (above its head), as it won't be interested and cows don't look up for much.

In West Texas for Mule Deer, I put my TC up around water troughs. Without fail the cattle would turn them, knock them off or slobber all over them no matter where I put them or how I attached them. What solved my problem was a piece of 2"x4" welded wire that I made a half moon cover for the camera. I cut the center couple of staging on the 2"x4" wire and then pulled them outward like a shutter. I did just enough of this to allow the lens or a sensor to not be in the line of sight.

Thanks, guys. I can hang them higher most probably. STX, I was thinking about something similar-thank you for that tip. I will see what materials I have at the place. We don't use feeders so inside the pen is out of play, but I could put them on a tree with a piece of cattle panel curled around to form a small pen that would keep them off the strap

Just make you a small version of a varmint cage. I have homemade mounting brackets for trees (when they are in the right place) and don't use the straps. They are simple and cheap to make.

If you have trees that are tall enough, just mount the cameras about 7' off the ground. They take great pics from an elevated position and it will alleviate most of your livestock issues. I have not had issues with cams mounted out of reach of cattle, anyway.

Not a problem with livestock for me, but I have had squirrels chew through the straps holding my cams more than once. I now use smooth fence wire to affix my cams to trees, poles, or posts.

In my experience, if the camera is low enough for cattle, they will lick it and rub on it. They lick, as I understand it from a buddy who raises cattle, to help determine what it is. If one cow sees another lick it, then it may lick the camera as well. They can leave enough slobber on the lens to ruin subsequent images until you clean it off.

I have had one camera knocked off by cattle. The cow apparently used the cam as a scratching post with her shoulder and broke the plastic buckle on the strap. The camera fell face up and I got pics of cow faces and belly, a couple deer faces, and sky.

Make a bucket stand and brush them in so the cattle can't get to them. It has worked for the most part but they will still occasionally knock them over.

Just part of it and sucks if you can't get out there very often to check them.

Never had an issue with cows. I filled a 5 gallon bucket with concrete with a 4" sewer pipe about 4 feet tall. Attached my camera to it. Every once in a while they might topple it but other than that no issues eating or breaking them.

Had one camera broke by cows...I think they need to be in a box for protection.

set them high or put a cage around them.. cattle aint much of a bother... a goat would eat it

I've had more damage done to feeders and cameras by horses.

Seldom have a problem with cattle bothering my cams. Occasionally get a lick, lick but if you are using a strap, the excess needs to be wrapped up and out of the way. A calf will chew and chew and then chew some more on the strap ends.

I put mine in the pen, that way they usually don't get hit. I could post some pics the cows left me, but I would go to camp

Cows killed us last year knocked down 4 cams and chewed up all the wires to external battery packs. We ended up mounting inside pens and mounted a square section of a varmint cage to a 2x4 and screwed them in on both sides of cam and battery box so they couldn't get to them. It worked